Symphony
by Kitty'sGotANewName
Summary: Melody needs someone to help her change her tune about men. Could Data bring a new song into her life? Data/OC
1. Chapter 1

Title: **Symphony**  
Category: TV Shows » StarTrek: The Next Generation  
Author: Kitty'sGotANewName  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: M  
Genre: Romance/General  
Published: 09-30-09, Updated: 10-02-09  
Chapters: 2, Words: 5,745

**Chapter 1: Chapter 1**

I do not own the characters or settings in this story.

**a/n: This is my first attempt at a ST:TNG fic, so please forgive any inconsistencies, though instructive reviews are welcomed.**

**Chapter 1**

Melody sat in her seat aboard the shuttle, chewing her nails nervously. Her shipsuit-clad body plastered against the bulkhead, she waited for the transport to dock with her first assignment: the S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D. She was strung tight as a bowstring. Packed into a 10-seater shuttle with 15 other ensigns, (most of them male) was _not_ her idea of a good time. In fact, being this close to this many men was a horribly slow torture. After having been raped in her first year at Starfleet Academy, men terrified Melody Beck like nothing else.

Watching the faces of the ensigns around her as they laughed and joked with each other, Melody could almost _feel_ the men's lust closing in around her. The buzzing in her ears got louder as the minutes passed, drowning out all other sound. _At this rate, I won't be able to __**stand**__, let alone present myself by the time we get there! _Melody thought, smiling nervously around her well-chewed fingers, _Get a grip, Mel! There're plenty of people here. You're not going to get ravaged with everyone looking on!_

Relief stole over her as the shuttle decelerated, landing smoothly on the deck of what she had been told would be Shuttlebay 3. Letting the others file out ahead of her, Melody closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She stood, grabbed her flight bag, and took her place at the back of the line. Beating the wrinkles out of her uniform, she surveyed her appearance in the courtesy mirror just inside the shuttle door. Long wavy blonde hair, pale skin, and black eyes set in a heart-shaped face, combined with a trim, petite frame had earned her many compliments since hitting puberty. The last few years, though, her features had been the bane of her existence. They attracted far too much male attention.

As the line of ensigns trooped out onto the deck, Melody found herself filled with awe, almost overshadowing the ever-present fear she lived with. This was the legendary Starship Enterprise. The flagship of the fleet. Diplomatic vessel. Scientific explorer. Battleship. Most Starfleet graduates never even got to see her in person, let alone serve on her decks. Less than 1% of each year's students worked here as ensigns. 1% of those made a rank on board. It was almost unheard of to make a career from ensign up among her crew.

Looking at the faces of the 15 Starfleet graduates standing beside the shuttle, Melody knew she was looking at the best of the best. Out of the 1600 students from her year, these were the lucky ones selected for this honor. Technically, at 23, she should have been considered too young for this. No ensign had graduated younger than her; and no one younger than she had ever served on a federation-class vessel.

"Attention arriving ensigns! Please line up left to right along the yellow line, in alphabetical order! Adams, Veronica! Alvarez, Carlos! Beck, Melody! Dean, Viktor! Harper, Andrew, Muniez…" a commanding voice out of nowhere began reciting the names of the ensigns in attendance. Getting into place, Melody cringed inwardly. Great, she was bracketed by men. How the hell was she supposed to keep her cool well enough to meet her commanding officers with the fear rising inside her? She set her jaw, concentrating on keeping her breathing even and her face neutral. Arms by her side, chest out, head up, eyes forward.

"Officer on deck!" the voice called. A group of figures emerged from a set of lift doors facing the line of new crewmembers. A dark-haired and bearded man was in the lead, flanked by two women. One was cheerful looking, with straight reddish hair, and the other was kind faced and dark complexioned. She scanned the faces of those before her and a worried look briefly crossed her face.

Stopping before the gathered ensigns, the bearded man addressed them. "Good morning, everyone, I am First Officer William Riker. I will be in charge of your placement and training while you remain ensigns on this ship." The man's deep, resounding voice, so much like Professor Allen's, startled Melody away from her study of the group. She took a deep shuddering breath and tried to reassure herself that he was not the teacher who had so abused her.

Gesturing to his left, Commander Riker indicated each of the two women in turn."This is Counselor Deanna Troi, who will monitor your emotional well-being, and this is Chief Medical Officer Beverly Crusher, in charge of your physical well-being. You will all be reporting to her for a full check up shortly. In the mean time, I would like all of you to report to your new quarters, get settled in and meet your roommates. Each of you has been paired with another ensign that has been with us longer. The computer will direct you as a group to the crew quarters and each of you separately from there to your rooms. Please remain in those rooms until you have received your schedules. We hope your time on the Enterprise will be informative and well-spent." With that, Riker and the two women turned and left.

Shortly thereafter, a section of the wall before the new ensigns lit up and a computerized voice spoke. "Follow the lighted panels on the wall, please." The group picked up their bags and followed, talking animatedly as they walked. All except for Melody, walking alone at the back of the group.

"Commander?" Deanna began as Beverly excused herself to attend to a medical emercency at Sick Bay. Riker turned to his friend and sometime lover, knowing that she only used his title when official business needed to be addressed.

"Yes, Counselor Troi?"

"There is something amiss with one of the new ensigns, I believe. An almost overwhelming sense of terror and shame emanating from one of them."

"Hmm…okay. Did you get a sense of which one?" Riker queried.

Deanna thought for a moment. "Not really… although I think there was a feminine tone to the mind. I'd like to have a consult with all of them individually to try to sort out the source of the emotion. Fear that strong can cripple someone both personally and professionally."

"We can schedule each of them for a short interview with the two of us for later today if that's alright wit you… I'm free starting at 1400 hours. Does that work with your schedule?"

Deanna accessed her data pad for her appointments. "Yes, that should be fine. Sixteen of them… so at 15 minute intervals, that makes four hours… ending at 1800." Deanna smiled at Riker, tipping her head to one side and placing one hand on her hip. "That will leave us time for dinner at my place later… Work for you?"

Will's lips twitched "I think I can work that in, Counselor…"

Reaching her quarters, Melody saw that the left-side berth was already taken, with a violin on a stand and several history books scattered about. Respectable pursuits for an ambitious young ensign, though she'd see what the girl was like before drawing any real conclusions. After setting her carry-sack down on the bed, she turned to her trunk, which had been delivered prior to her arrival. She broke the seal, lifted the lid and set about putting away her meager possessions. All she had were her shipsuits, a few changes of civilian clothes, a few books, and some keepsakes from her parents.

She caressed them as she placed her treasures on the headboard. A holo-pic of her parents, young, vibrant, and in love. A small robot she'd built herself at age 4. A small, esoteric bit of unknown alien tech from her parents' last trip. The little cube had no buttons or controls, but it occasionally blinked with amber lights. Her parents had figured it for a magnetic field locator. They had given it to her only days before the strange virus had killed them.

As she was finishing up, a message chime sounded from the comm. unit. "Computer, please identify." She commanded.

"Incoming message from Commander Riker for Ensign Beck. Priority."

_Probably my schedule,_ she thought to herself as she instructed the computer to play the message.

Commander Riker's strong, authoritative voice filled the room, sending a thrill of fear through her, though she had braced for it.

"Your itinerary for the next few days has been posted to the computer in your quarters. Please access this file immediately, as some of you may have duties beginning shortly. We request that, until you have been given the tour tomorrow, any off-duty time be spent within the purview of the crew quarters. Again, welcome to the Enterprise."

Melody sat down at her desk and accessed the schedule on her computer.

1100-1200 Quarters

1200-1300 Luncheon at Ten Forward

1300-1645 Quarters/Supper

1645-1700 Meeting with Counselor Troi

1700-0700 Quarters/Breakfast

0700-0900 Debriefing

0900-1000 Sickbay

1100-1200 Luncheon

1200-1400 Bridge, Comm, Teleporter Room

1400-1500 Science

1500-1600 Engineering

1600-1700 Sickbay

1700-1800 Security

1800-1900 Supper

1900-2000 Debriefing/Assignments

2000-0700 Quarters/Breakfast

Melody sighed. She could see that it was going to be a long, slow day.

After lunch, which she decided to take in her quarters, as they had a small food replicator in them, Melody decided to pass the time until her appointment with Counselor Troi by studying the ship's schematics. Knowing how to get from Point A to Point B without the computer's help would be useful if she wanted to be known for punctuality.

When the chime sounded to let her know it was time to go to Counselor Troi's office, Melody had memorized the ship's deck layout and the names and ranks of all its top personnel and was halfway through reading the Enterprise's general specs list. Marking her place, she got up and set out for the main office level. Confident in her memorization skills, Melody declined to use the in-ship navigator.

As she walked, Mel watched the people she passed. Most of them seemed oblivious to her presence, intent on their conversations, data padds, or lost in their own thoughts. The one crew member who didn't ignore her was an odd-looking man. He was pale, with a strange, metallic gleam to his skin and pale gold eyes that seemed to stare into her soul as she passed. And, even stranger… she wasn't afraid of him. She didn't think he was even human.

Melody paused and turned to watch his back as he moved beyond her along the curving corridor and out of sight. Disturbed, she resumed her walk.

Upon reaching her destination, Melody realized she was a few minutes early. She hit the key pad beside the door to let Counselor Troi know she was there.

"Just a minute, we're almost done here." Counselor Troi's voice came over the comm. unit. Melody stood beside the door to wait.

Shortly, the door panel slid aside and short, stocky, Viktor Dean stepped out. He gestured for her to enter, which she did, edging around the door frame, trying to stay as far away from him as possible. Coming into the room, Melody froze. Sitting on one of the deep blue chairs next to the expected figure of Deanna Troi, was the thoroughly unexpected Commander Riker.

Melody took a deep breath to regain her composure and proceeded into the room. She sat down stiffly on the edge of the third seat in the triangle, keeping her face carefully neutral.

Deanna Troi knew she had found the source of the fear as soon as the petite blonde edged around the door frame, cringing away from her fellow ensign. She was doubly sure when the girl froze upon spotting Will Riker. Now it was up to her to find the source of the fear and help Ensign Beck overcome it.

Exchanging a communicative glance with her fellow officer, Deanna excused herself to the back room to reschedule her appointments with the other two ensigns left on the list. This would take longer than the fifteen minutes allotted for each consult.

Re-entering the counseling room, Deanna took a closer look at Melody Beck. She was perched stiffly on the edge of her chair, playing with the ends of her long, wavy golden hair in a nervous gesture that she obviously didn't realize she was doing. Her black eyes, half-hidden beneath long, black lashes, were trained on Will with a wary, almost panicked look. She was also set, Deanna noticed, as far on her chair from Will as possible. So then, did she suffer from a fear of men, or of people, in general?

As Deanna approached, she noted that Melody relaxed perceptibly and shifted in her seat to face her. The problem, then, was men.

"Ensign Beck, there is something you should know before we begin. I am an empath. When we met your group, I sensed a great deal of fear in one of you. I believe you are the source of that emotion. I would like to help you if I can." Deanna smiled reassuringly as she sat down in the vacant seat. "I noticed as you entered, you kept away from Ensign Dean. Are men a factor in your fear?"

Melody seemed to fold in on herself. Sinking back into her seat, a brittle look crept over her face. Eyes that had been stony cold moments before became dark, endless pits of agony. Deanna knew trouble was coming only in enough time to shield her own mind before torrents of despair and terror washed over the room, leaving tears coursing down the empath's face. She looked over at Will, and seeing him sitting rigidly in his seat, a pained expression on his face, gripping the arms of the chair with white-knuckled hands, she reached over and placed one of her own hands over his. Will's face cleared instantly and he even managed to send her a weak smile.

Deanna turned back to the young woman cringing into her chair. An empath. She had to have had no training or knowledge of her talent for Deanna not to have sensed such a strong ability before. This could either ease things along or complicate the hell out of them…

On the bright side, with Melody now projecting her emotions so vividly, Deanna knew without a doubt that her fear of men stemmed from a personal event, probably a rape, as opposed to a history of suggestion from others or lack of exposure to them.

"Melody? Melody, you're safe here. I won't let anything happen. You're safe…" Deanna continued a soothing monologue as she moved closer to the girl and took her in her arms. Contact would ease the projection of calming thoughts.

"Will, would you mind leaving us for a bit? I'll call you later." Deanna needed to calm Melody down now, and Will's presence wouldn't help.

As he exited, Will sent Deanna a wink and a lopsided grin over Melody's head. Dinner probably wouldn't be happening tonight. He hadn't realized just how big the problem was until he's seen the naked fear on the girl's face and felt her emotions come crashing through his brain. She was terrified of him. He didn't like that. He considered himself to be a likeable guy and her fear disturbed him.

And, too, where, the blazes, was he going to put her? That level of fear coupled with obvious empathic talent could cause trouble… He resolved to give the problem more thought. Once he was safely away from this melange of emotional distress.

Melody relaxed in Deanna's arms once Riker left. After a moment, though, she pulled away and wrapped her own arms around herself. Deanna moved back to her own seat and considered her newest challenge.

"Can you tell me what happened to you, Melody?" Deanna queried, although she didn't expect an answer to that question this early.

An angry look stole over Melody's face, leaving her eyes dark holes of malice. "If you really want to know, look at my first year disciplinary records." She grated out through tightly clenched jaws. "That should tell you everything."

Deanna moved to her desk, watching Melody warily. Sudden mood changes could be dangerous in a traumatized individual. She didn't want to have to call Security on the girl. That would get them nowhere. Worf would probably send her over the edge.

She pulled up Melody's file on the screen and found the section labeled 'Disciplinary Action'. The only item there was a citation for slander. The article detailed how Melody had accused the xenolingustics professor at the Academy of raping her in her first year. The rape kit had been deemed 'inconclusive' and the teacher had provided an alibi. Melody was docked 16 credits and forced to write a formal letter of apology. She had also been made to stay in the teacher's class for the remainder of the year, resulting in atrocious grades.

_Stars!_ Deanna thought, _if they had only had an empath on staff, no one would have ever doubted that this traumatized young woman had been raped._ Now it was Deanna's job to help Melody to overcome her fear so she could live again.

Sitting back in her chair, Deanna looked over at Melody, who was staring back at her with dead eyes."Well, I think you were subjected to a horrific experience, and then grossly mistreated by the very people you should have been able to trust on top of it."

Melody's eyes got big, and then she abruptly covered her face with her hands. Dry sobs shook her thin frame as she asked, "Why do _you_ believe me when they didn't? You don't even _know_ me!"

"I am an empath, Melody; I can feel what you're feeling. No one could fake this much fear well enough for me to be mistaken. You _were_ raped, and the bastard _did_ get away with it. And now you are not alone. I know it, too. You're safe here."

Deanna and Melody talked for a while more, and then Melody asked to be excused as she was going to have an early morning.

"I'll talk to Commander Riker tonight about placement for you. Where do your specialties and interests lie?" Deanna asked her.

Melody ducked her head as she answered. "Science is my best subject. Before they died, I lived with my parents on board a Science and Exploration vessel. I've always wanted to follow in their footsteps," she explained. "That's why I joined Starfleet in the first place."

Deanna thought for a moment, and then a smile bloomed across her face. "Yes! I think that's a great idea. If you are stationed in Science, you'll be working with Commander Data. He's an android, so you'll have nothing to fear from him. I'll make the recommendation to Commander Riker."

Melody thanked Counselor Troi with a dubious look on her face and took her leave. _An android?_ She thought. _Could that be who I met in the corridor earlier?_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A chime sounded in William Riker's quarters as he was picking up the novel he'd been working on. Archaic, he knew, but there was just something about the way a good book felt in his hand that a data padd couldn't replace. He'd always been that way, but spending time with Captain Picard had only reinforced his attraction to old things.

"Enter." He called out.

Deanna walked in, carrying a 20th century style take-out bag. "Up for a little late dinner?" she asked with a sheepish smile spreading across her olive-skinned face. "I didn't realize that session with Ensign Beck had gone so long, though we did make some good progress."

Will smiled warmly as he gratefully took the take-out bag. Deanna really knew how to soften him up. His enjoyment of the antique was well known. "I'm always up for dinner with a beautiful woman." He replied smoothly. "But I'm also glad you made progress. Your tardiness is forgiven."

As he laid out the Chinese-style fare, Will expanded on the subject. "Ensign Beck provides me with something of a conundrum. Where to station her, where that phobia of hers won't present a problem, but her skills are put to good use. I've considered Comm, but according to her file, her xenolinguistics ratings… well, frankly, they're terrible! Any ideas?"

Deanna's smile grew, as if she'd only been waiting for him to ask. "Well, I was thinking more along the lines of Science. Her parents specialized in the field and she wants to as well. There's a pretty even mixture of men and women there and Commander Data should be a pretty safe neutral ground for her."

Nodding, Will thought about it for a moment. Deanna's plan slowly taking shape in his mind. "That should work," he said slowly, "as it'll help her to trust again, since there's no one so trustworthy as an android, and at the same time she'll give Data a look into another aspect of the human condition… better have a talk with him beforehand, though. We don't want him to accidentally alienate her with an innocently misplaced comment." Riker smiled, remembering Rigell 5.

Deanna's answering smile suggested that she was recalling the same incident… or one of the many other times Data's lack of comprehension of emotions had led to them getting into a delicate situation. The number of times did not even bear counting.

Deanna smiled one of her inscrutable smiles that always had him wondering just how devious that mind of hers really was. The other side effect of those smiles was that they never failed to heat his blood.

Putting down his chopsticks, Will moved around to her side of the coffee table. He removed the paper box from Deanna's hands and led her towards the bedroom.

Dinner would just have to wait.

* * *

After taking breakfast in her quarters (and still with no sign of her roommate), Melody set off for the conference room where the debriefing would be held. She was still feeling shaky from last night's revelations, so she took extra care with her appearance. Having always been an early riser, she had had plenty of time to braid her hair and tidy herself before leaving. And, since she didn't have to rely on the computer to navigate the corridors, Melody was the first to arrive. Taking a seat where she could see the entire room with no one behind her, Melody settled in to wait.

At 0700, Commander Riker strode into the room. Seeing Melody already in place, he smiled and nodded, but kept his distance, for which Melody was grateful. Trickling in after him in groups of two and three, the other ensigns joined them. By 0705, the last had arrived, the latecomers earning themselves frowns from the commander.

"Now that we're all here, let's begin, "announced Commander Riker, using the screen in front of him to bring up a list of topics on the screen in front of each ensign.

After two hours of slogging through rules, regulations, and other trivia of day-to-day life aboard the Enterprise, Commander Riker dismissed the group to either report to sickbay for their physicals or to their quarters to await the same.

Melody escaped to the corridor as quickly as she could and double-timed it towards sickbay. The rest of her group followed at a more leisurely pace. Once again, she made it to their destination first.

Entering sickbay, Melody looked around curiously. The facilities here looked even more advanced than at the Academy. Doctor Crusher was guiding some sort of shell over a groaning crewmember lying on a table at the far wall.

---------------

Beverly was x-raying Leutenant Anders' ribcage when she noticed the petite blonde standing at the door. She pointed towards the waiting area on her left. "Could you please wait over there, Ensign? I'll be done here in a moment."

As she treated Anders for a fractured rib, Beverly watched the young woman waiting her turn in the corner. The girl waved her fellows over as they entered, but declined to speak to them or even to stand near them. One to watch, she figured, if she came in too regularly with injuries.

Finishing up, she gave Adams a light sedative to keep him quiet while the bone mending machine worked on him, and turned to the assembled ensigns.

"I'll take you in alphabetical order, please. Ensign Adams, come with me."

Leading the young woman to a curtained area, Beverly gave her her physical and then sent her out to send the next one in.

Beverly laid Melody down on the diagnostic table, while she lowered the shell over the girl. Tapping on the key pad, she read Melody's medical file and compared the notes to what the machine was telling her. The only inconsistency was quite a bit of pelvic scarring, consistent with a violent rape. Although it might be a touchy subject, she had to ask Ensign Beck about it, since nothing about a rape showed anywhere in her medical files.

"Ensign Beck, I show a good deal of scarring in your pelvic area. Do you know what happened to cause this?" Beverly asked her patient.

Melody's eyes got hard. "I believe Counselor Troi will have the information you request, Doctor Crusher." She recited in a formal monotone voice. "She has my full permission to disclose any details you require."

Beverly hit the release on the med shell and, with kind eyes, told Melody she was free. "And if you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm almost always here." She offered.

Melody's eyes cleared and she made an attempt to smile. "Thank you, Doctor."

Melody returned to her quarters, ate lunch ,and reported to Ten Forward promptly at 1200 for the ship tour. She was met there by Commander Riker and then joined shortly by the rest of the ensigns. They began the tour by walking to the Bridge the long way so that those who hadn't already memorized the ship layout could learn the way.

Upon reaching their destination, Commander Riker introduced them to Captain Picard, an older gentleman with an upright bearing, but a nice smile on his face.

"Welcome to the Enterprise. I'm sure Commander Riker has given you all the talk you can stand, so I'll be brief. This is the bridge; that's my ready room; and this is my chair… Don't sit in it!" With a grin, the captain sat down and turned his attention back to running the ship.

Chuckling, Commander Riker led the ensigns around the bridge, introducing them to the various stations and the people manning them. Shortly, the other ensigns began to look dazed and confused, though Melody had no trouble keeping up.

After about an hour, the group left the bridge and headed for the Communications room, followed by the Transport Bay, where they met Lieutenant O'Brien, a saucy Irishman, who told horrible jokes and pretended offense when they all groaned.

Next on the agenda was Science, where Counselor Troi had said she would try to convince Commander Riker to station Melody. Entering the Science Lab, Melody was greeted with a welcome sight: machines, both familiar and new to her, graced the walls and tables. There were machines for analyzing animal, vegetable, mineral, and chemical specimens. There were machines for taking things apart and for fabrication, too. Melody was in heaven.

So entranced was she by her surroundings that she almost missed Commander Riker's first words.

"This is our Science Lab, which Lieutenant Commander Data, here, will tell you about… Remember, Data, we only have an hour here."

Melody snapped back to attention at that. She almost hadn't noticed the man standing beside Commander Riker. It was the oddly-colored man she had seen on her way to Counselor Troi's office! And he was looking at her with what could have been amusement on his face. He'd obviously noticed her fascination with the machines of the Science Lab. Melody blushed.

Surveying the new ensigns, Commander Data welcomed them to his domain. "Here in the Science Lab, we take specimens and samples from our away teams and analyze them. We also do surface scans and handle biological and chemical contaminants and try to ascertain the purpose and inner workings of any technology brought to us."

He then took the group on a tour of the lab, giving a brief explanation of the purpose of each one. Melody listened with rapt attention, especially to his descriptions of the more unfamiliar machines.

Finishing up, Data told a science joke. The other ensigns blinked at him, confused, while Melody chuckled quietly. The one about the interface probe and the Cardassian _was_ really funny…

" I hope to get a chance to work with some of you during your stay on the ship." Data ended. Melody had the distinct impression that he was speaking to her.

Following Science, the group was ushered around to Engineering, to meet Lieutenant Commander Jeordi LaForge, Sickbay, to get the tour from Doctor Crusher, and Security, to meet the rather imposing klingon, Lieutenant Commander Worf, who terrified her. Not being particularly interested in Sickbay or Security, Melody only paid enough attention to memorize the important parts, though she paid better attention to Lt. Commander LaForge's words, as Engineering and Science were closely connected.

Melody noticed that, as they toured the ship, Commander Riker did his best to buffer her from the men they came across, while managing to keep his distance. Thankful, Melody rewarded him with a weak smile when he looked her way.

After the tour, the entire group went to Ten Forward for supper. Melody attempted to escapeto her quarters, but, at a warning glance from the commander, she resigned herself to enduring more time among people. Eating quickly, however, Melody did manage to make it to a quiet corner before she broke down.

Sitting in a booth at the edge of the room, Melody made herself breathe deeply and calm down as her peers finished their meals.

When everyone was finished, Commander Riker waved them all in closer. Melody positioned herself at the edge of the group, where she would still be able to hear clearly.

"Okay, everyone, now that you all have a pretty good idea of the layout of the ship and what goes on and where, I'm going to give you each your assignments. These are subject to change, so please check your messages frequently. I will be open to suggestions and opinions regarding your posts, although it's within my rights to disregard them. Some of you may have stationary schedules, while others rotate. We want to try to match everyone up with a specialty that suits their particular interests, skills, and needs. That isn't going to happen immediately for most of you. Please be patient and help both me and yourselves by communicating with me. Now, let's begin.

Ensign Adams, you'll start off in Engineering. Report to Lt. Commander LaForge's office at 0800. Ensign Alvarez, you will start out in Security. Report there at 0700. Ensign Beck, Science. 0900. Ensign Dean, Security, 0700…" Two other ensigns were assigned to Science before Riker was finished.

Once everyone had their assignments for the next morning, Melody attempted to escape to her quarters. Commander Riker caught up with her in the corridor.

"Ensign Beck, a word, please." Melody stopped and turned to face her commanding officer, leaving plenty of space between them. "Ensign Beck, you are also to spend a minimum of two hours per week in session with Commander Troi. She will contact you with a schedule of appointments. You will regard that schedule as if I gave it to you and honor your appointments. That is all." Commander Riker moved off down the hallway, leaving Melody's thoughts roiling. While she was relieved that the commander seemed to understand and respect her need for space, she really didn't want to be forced into counseling sessions.


End file.
